Mat for catching grease and oil drippings



Jan. 11, 1966 5.1.. GATsos MAT FOR CATGHING GREASE AND OIL DRIPPINGS Filed April 28, 1961 QW? u (WMWWQI K 2 m H. V2M /wmf 5 L Q1 ,a

INVENTOR STEPHEN L. GATSOS ATTORNEY United States Patent Office 3,228,491 Patented Jain. 11, 1966 3,228,491 IVIAT FOR CATCHING GREASE AND 01L DRIPPINGS Stephen L. Gatsos, 2023 Greenleaf St., Allentown, Pa. Filed Apr. 28, 1961, Ser. No. 106,276 2 Claims. (Cl. 1841-106) This invention relates to a mat for catching grease and oil drippings from a parked automobile in a garage or the like.

An object of the invention is to provide a highly inexpensive simplied drip mat of the mentioned character which is unitary in construction, foldable and which carries feet for spacing the mat somewhat from the garage floor.

Another object is to provide a drip mat formed of of inexpensive material and designed to absorb relatively large quantities of oil or grease without soiling the garage floor, the mat being cheap enough so that it can be disposed of and replaced at little expense by a new one after its useful life is terminated.

Another object is to provide a drip mat of the mentioned character which may be folded hat for packaging and shipment in a compact manner and which includes a novel arrangment of integral feet formed by folding portions of the mat material with means to lock the feet in their folded or active positions.

Another object is to provide a mat of the mentioned character having a coating or layer of oil and grease impervious material on its lower side and inexpensive, durable, absorbent material on its upper side adapted to contain printed indicia, advertising, instructions and the like Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent during the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this application and in which like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same,

FIGURE l is a plan view of a drip mat for garage floors and the like showing feet in their inactive positions according to the invention,

FIGURE 2 is an edge elevation of the mat shown in FIGURE l,

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the mat with the the integral feet folded and locked in the active positions,

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view showing the details of one of the integral feet formed by scoring the mat to facilitate folding and locking of the feet,

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section through the mat at right angles to the transverse corrugations thereof. u

In the drawings, wherein for the purpose of illustration is shown a preferred embodiment of the invention, the numeral 1li designates the drip mat as a whole, the same being rectangular in configuration and elongated longitudinally for convenient disposition beneath an automobile on a garage lloor. When the mat is unfolded for use, FIGURE 3, it is preferably about forty-eight inches long and twenty-four inches Wide, but these dimensions are not critical and may be varied somewhat if desired. The mat is narrow enough transversely to be straddled by the wheels of the average automobile without the necessity for the wheels rolling upon the mat.

Except for a grease and moisture-proof coating or layer on its bottom surface, to be described, the mat 1l) is formed entirely from a unitary section of ordinary corrugated iiberboard or paperboard or the like, including the usual upper thin layer or sheet 11, an identical bottom smooth layer 12 and an intermediate corrugated layer or sheet 13, all adhesively secured together to form a unitary laminated or sandwich construction, as is well known in corrugated liberboard boxes, cartons and the like. The multiplicity of parallel corrugations in the intermediate layer 13 of the mat 10 extend transversely of the mat or at right angles to its longitudinal edges 14. This is largely to facilitate folding the mat 10 transversely and downwardly upon a transverse fold or score line 15 formed in the lower layer 12 at the longitudinal center of the mat and extending entirely across the same. The mat is thus conveniently folded upon itself while in the flat condition shown in FIGURES l and 2 for ease of storage, packaging or shipment.

The lower face of the mat has a grease, oil and moisture-proof coating or layer 16 of plastics material, silicone or the like applied thereto during manufacturing to prevent the seepage Vof a grease and oil drippings therethrough even when the mat has absorbed a considerable quantity of oil or grease. Any desired grease and moisture-proof coating may be employed upon the bottom layer 12, and' the top layer 11 is uncoated so that it will absorb the grease and oil readily.

To increase the holding capacity of the mat, there is provided in the upper layer 11 only of the fiberboard body portion a multiplicity of small perforations 17, preferably about one-eighth of an inch in diameter and spaced equidistantly about twelve openings per square inch over the entire surface area of the mat 10. These perforations 17 do not extend through the bottom layer or sheet 12 or coating 16. The oil and grease which is not directly absorbed by the top layer 11 may enter the perforations 17 and be absorbed by the corrugated layer 13 and the bottom layer 12. Considerable quantities of grease may also collect in the valleys of the numerous corrugations 1S, see FIGURE 5. Additionally, by perforating the upper layer 11, the drippings are allowed to pass through the upper layer and be dispersed over the greater surface area of the intermediate corrugated layer 13. Such dispersing will not only allow the mat lll to absorb maximum quantities of grease, but will allow the mat to dry out and thereby have its life extended.

Novel feet integral with the mat 1l) are provided to space the same about one inch from the garage iloor. These feet are formed out of the material of the mat proper by scoring the same along certain lines during manufacturing and by slitting the mat along other lines, as shown. As shown in FIGURE 1, the feet may lie fla-t or coplanar with the mat body portion so that the entire device will be dat and compact for packaging, storage and shipment. The feet are shown in their active matsupporting positions in FIGURES 3 and 4.

As shown in the drawings, preferably six feet 19 are provided upon the mat 10 along its longitudinal edges in a uniformly spaced manner to elevate the entire mat somewhat from the lloor. The feet are all identical in construction and therefore a description of one foot will suice to describe all of them.

In connection with each foot 19, the mat 1@ is slit through upon short transverse lines 2li and 21, the former extending through the adjacent longitudinal edge 14 at of right angles thereto and the'latter disposed entirely inwardly of the edge 14 and parallel to the slit 20 and about one-half the length of the same and spaced therefrom. The slits 26 and 21 are connected by a short longitudinal slit 22 at right angles thereto and parallel to and inwardly of the edge 14. A further longitudinal slit 23 is provided at the outer end of the short slit 21 and parallel to the edge 14. A further transverse slit 24 is formed through the edge 14 and through the mat some distance from the slit 20 and beyond the terminal end of the longitudinal slit 23. The slit 23 and the slit 24 have between them a longitudinal score or folding line 25 parallel to the edge 14 and in alignment with the slit 23. A transverse score or folding line 26 extends from the end of the slit 23 to the edge 14 and parallel to the slits 20 and 24. An additional short longitudinal slit 27 is formed at right angles to the slit 20 and intersecting the same and in line with the slit 23 and spaced therefrom. Inwardly of each foot 19 as shown in the drawings is a small transverse slot 28 formed through the mat to facilitate locking the foot in the active position clearly shown in FIGURE 4.

When each foot 19 is to be erected or folded into the active position, FIGURES 3 and 4, the body portion thereof is folded downwardly or beneath the mat upon the score line 25. The foot body portion is then folded inwardly or under the mat 10 horizontally upon the score line 26, see particularly FIGURE 4. As shown in that gure, the body portion of the foot 19 is now L-shaped and vertically disposed to maintain the mat 10 spaced from the oor about one inch or so. The small rectangular tab 29 outlined by the slits 20, 21 and 22 is engaged upwardly through the adjacent transverse slot 28, FIG- URE 4, and the tab is bent upon itself at right angles as shown in the drawings, utilizing the short slit 27 to permit such bending and the tab assumes an Lshaped position, FIGURE 4, above the mat 10 to lock the foot 19 securely in the active position, as should now be apparent. In the assembled or active position, each foot 19 is L- shaped with a portion 30 extending parallel to the longitudinal edge 14 of the mat and somewhat inwardly thereof, and a second portion 31 disposed at right angles to the longitudinal edge 14 and inwardly thereof in underlying relation to the mat. The feet 19 may of course be returned to their flat unfolded conditions shown in FIGURE 1, at any time, by the mere disengagement of the tab 29 from the slot 28. The feet 19 are thus integral with the mat 10 and cannot be lost or separated therefrom and no tools or separate fasteners are required to erect the feet.

When the entire device is flat as in FIGURE 1, it may be readily folded upon itself longitudinally along the transverse line for convenience of packing, stacking or storing.

The upper layer or sheet 11 may carry printed instructions, advertising indicia or any other desired indicia such as large printed arrows which would aid in directing the automobile driver squarely over the matin a garage. The printed indicia may very considerably or may be omitted entirely if preferred, and it has been omitted from the drawings for the sake of simplicity.

The mat is inexpensive and may be discarded and replaced by a new mat with little expense after a long period of usage. The design is such that the mat should have a very long life and be capable of absorbing and holding substantial quantities of oil and grease without soiling the garage floor. The use of the mat should now be entirely obvious without any further description herein.

While the perforations 17 are disclosed as being round, it should be understood that perforations of various other shapes may be formed through the upper layer 11 if preferred, and this may include elongated slits or the like in the upper layer 11 as dictated by preferred manufacturing processes.

It is to be understood that the form of the invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferrcd example of the same, and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to, without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. A drip mat for use beneath an automobile to absorb and hold grease and oil drippings comprising a substantally rectangular body portion of a size adapted to fit beneath an automobile, said body portion being multi-ply and laminated and having a top perforated layer of substantially smooth fibrous material, an intermediate layer of corrugated fibrous material, a lower layer of imperforate fibrous material and a bottom coating of grease and oil impervious plastics material, said body portion being scored transversely near its longitudinal center to facilitate folding of two half sections thereof upon each other for storage, said body portion being slit through all plies thereof at plural spaced regions along its longitudinal edges to form initially flat foldable sections hinged to the body portion and foldable downwardly therefrom and also foldable in vertical planes beneath the body portion and inwardly of the longitudinal edges thereof to form integral supporting feet thereon, said folded feet having upstanding foldable locking tabs and said body portion having through slots near and inwardly of said slits adapted to receive said tabs prior to the folding thereof, whereby said tabs upon being folded overlie the top face of said body portion and lock said feet in folded erected positions.

2. A mat to absorb grease and oil drippings beneath an automobile comprising a substantially rectangular at body portion of fibrous absorbent material having a bottom coating of grease and oil impervious material, said body portion provided along its longitudinal edges at spaced points with slits extending inwardly of said edges and additional slits extending longitudinally of said edges and at right angles to the first-named slits, said body portion having a corresponding number of through slots inwardly of and near said slits, said slits defining upon said body portion a corresponding number of integral foldable sections hinged to the body portion and each foldable upon lines parallel to and normal to said edges to transform said sections into upright supporting legs of generally L-shaped conguration beneath said body portion in substantially contacting relation thereto, and foldable upright locking tabs on the inner ends of said legs adapted to pass upwardly through said slots and to interlock with the top face of said body portion adjacent sides of said slots.

References Cited bythe Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,230,865 6/1917 Clark 154-55 1,605,953 11/1926 Howard 154-55 1,713,682 5/1929 Walter 229-15 2,533,738 12/1950 Moore 229-42 2,609,956 9/1952 Stevenson 154-55 2,657,044 10/1953 Apgar 154-55 X 2,740,518 4/ 1956 Kincaid 206-62 2,894,672 7/ 1959 Bamburg 229-34 2,896,618 7/1959 Schaefer 154-55 X 2,926,829 3/1960 Wilkins 154-55 X 2,955,733 10/ 1960 Wilson 229-6 EARL M. BERGERT, Primary Examiner.

J. P. MELOCHE, Assistant Examiner. 

2. A MAT TO ABSORB GREASE AND OIL DRIPPINGS BENEATH AN AUTOMOBILE COMPRISING A SUBSTANTIALLY RECTANGULAR FLAT BODY PORTION OF FIBROUS ABSORBENT MATERIAL HAVING A BOTTOM COATING OF GREASE AND OIL IMPERVIOUS MATERIAL, SAID BODY PORTION PROVIDED ALONG ITS LONGITUDINAL EDGES AT SPACED POINTS WITH SLITS EXTENDING INWARDLY OF SAID EDGES AND ADDITIONAL SLITS EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY OF SAID EDGES AND AT RIGHT ANGLES TO THE FIRST-NAMED SLITS, SAID BODY PORTION HAVING A CORRESPONDING NUMBER OF THROUGH SLOTS INWARDLY OF AND NEAR SAID SLITS, SAID SLITS DEFINING UPON SAID BODY PORTION A CORRESPONDING NUMBER OF INTEGRAL FOLDABLE SECTIONS HINGED TO THE BODY PORTION AND EACH FOLDABLE UPON LINES PARALLEL TO AND NORMAL TO SAID EDGES TO TRANSFORM SAID SECTIONS INTO UPRIGHT SUPPORTING LEGS OF GENERALLY L-SHAPED CONFIGURATION BENEATH SAID BODY PORTION IN SUBSTANTIALLY CONTACTING RELATION THERETO, AND FOLDABLE UPRIGHT LOCKING TABS ON THE INNER ENDS OF SAID LEGS ADAPTED TO PASS UPWARDLY THROUGH SAID SLOTS AND TO INTERLOCK WITH THE TOP FACE OF SAID BODY PORTION ADJACENT SIDES OF SAID SLOTS. 